Ice-structure interaction in the Baltic Sea: defining a feasibility map for monopiles

More Info
expand_more

Abstract

The increasing popularity of offshore wind as a result of the demand for renewable energy, forces the industry to consider the development of wind farms in sub-arctic areas. One of these areas is the Baltic Sea, where the potential for wind energy is very large, but which is also prone to the occurrence of ice. For the design of offshore foundations it is paramount that ice-structure interaction is appropriately considered as ice-induced vibrations are known to significantly increase the loads. As a result, ice-mitigating measures may need to be included in the design. However, such measures will substantially increase the cost estimates required
for competitive tenders. Hence it is valuable for developers to have early screening tools to assess this. The aim of the research was to provide a ‘feasibility map’, which predicts the necessity for ice-mitigating measures in the entire Baltic region. Feasibility of monopiles was considered both technically and economically. The former by imposing design, installation & fabrication constraints and the latter was measured in terms of weight increase of monopiles.